This invention relates to rollers useful, e.g., in apparatus for placing semiconductor wafers in holders or boats.
Apparatus for transferring semiconductor wafers from plastic storage boats to quartz processing boats, and vice versa, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,606, which is hereby incorporated by reference. In this apparatus, the plastic and quartz boats are supported on trolleys that move the wafers past a pickup arm via metal rollers rolling along tracks located within the apparatus. In moving the wafers between the boats, it is desirable to avoid introduction of contamination onto the surfaces of the wafers. Such contamination can arise from scraping and sliding of parts within the apparatus being used to accomplish the transfer.